College Costs, Household Savings, and Stock Market Participation

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of changes in expected college costs on household savings, asset allocation, and stock market participation. Using household-level data for households with children, I first find that a $1,000 increase in in-state college tuition leads to a 1.7% higher probability of stock market participation and larger savings but does not affect the share of risky assets. After that, I exploit the introduction of a financial aid program for students from military families in 2009 and show that this program had a negative effect on the probability of stock market participation, the share of risky assets, and savings. Finally, I investigate the relation between in-state college tuition and investment in 529 college savings plans using portfolio-level data and demonstrate that in-state college tuition is positively associated with flows to these plans.

Keywords: college tuition, savings, portfolio choice, stock market participation, 529 plans

JEL Classification: D14, G11, I22, E21